Why are Xavier Bartlett and Nehal Wadhera not playing SRH vs PBKS today in Hyderabad?

Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to field first against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad in Match 49 of IPL 2026 on Wednesday evening. Shreyas Iyer made the call to bowl, pointing to SRH's chase in the last meeting between these sides as a factor in his thinking.

Despite back-to-back losses PBKS remain at the top of the table with 13 points and Shreyas was upbeat at the toss, saying those defeats have brought valuable learnings while the table position keeps the motivation high. SRH skipper Cummins on the other side said he would also have bowled first but seemed content enough to bat and put runs on the board in front of what has been a wonderfully supportive home crowd this season.

SRH vs PBKS: Ferguson back, Shashank returns, Nitish Reddy Fit again, no place for Xavier Bartlett and Nehal Wadhers

The headline change for PBKS is the return of Lockie Ferguson, who comes back into the XI after being absent for a significant part of the season. Shashank Singh also returns to the starting lineup, coming in as a replacement to bolster the middle order. Suryansh Shedge keeps his place from the previous game.

Priyansh Arya, PBKS' most destructive opening batter this season, is notable by his absence from the starting XI and appears in the impact player list, suggesting a tactical decision about when and how to deploy him rather than any fitness concern.

For SRH the big news is the return of Nitish Kumar Reddy, who missed the last game with illness and comes back in place of Aniket Verma. Cummins confirmed the change at the toss and Nitish's all-round contribution, particularly his ability to provide overs in the middle while batting effectively in the lower order, has been missed. Smaran Ravichandran retains his place after his debut in the previous game.

SRH vs PBKS: What Pat Cummins and Shreyas Iyer said at the Toss

Shreyas Iyer was characteristically positive despite the recent back-to-back losses, drawing on the learning from those defeats as a source of motivation rather than a source of doubt.

His decision to bowl first was influenced by the fact that SRH chased successfully in their last encounter and he wanted to avoid a similar situation. "Two losses, amazing learnings. But still being on top of the table gives us amazing motivation," he said, the kind of message that tells you the dressing room is not panicking despite the sudden dip in results.

Cummins was equally candid, admitting he also would have preferred to bowl first but expressing confidence in his side's ability to post a big total. His comment about not being able to read pitches has become something of a running joke given SRH's consistent approach of batting first and posting 220-plus, but the results have validated the philosophy more often than not this season.

Also READ: IPL 2026 playoff schedule confirmed by BCCI with venues and dates revealed

SRH vs PBKS: Playing XIs And Impact Players

PBKS: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal. Impact: Priyansh Arya, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Musheer Khan, Vishnu Vinod.

SRH: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins (c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain. Impact: Aniket Verma, Praful Hinge, Liam Livingstone, Harshal Patel, Harsh Dubey.